Action Comics: The Ending
by Tim Burns
Summary: [Complete] The introductory story for a divurgent DC universe that serves as the setting for an RPG. Many heroes fall, but hope always lives on.
1. Chapter 1

Heroclix RPSC—Action Comics: The Ending

**A word of introduction before the story begins. If you're wondering what this story is about, it's a tie-in to the Role-Playing Strategy Campaign I have going on at Essentially, it's the first step in shaping the world of an RPG set in the DC Universe. However, here on , it won't be presented as an RPG, but simply as a story for you to enjoy.**

**The other thing is that I apologize in advance, because oftentimes I find myself deficient in the knowledge of certain characters and histories. I'm going to essentially be writing the entire Marvel and DC universes, and honestly, I don't know everything about every character there. So, if I get some stuff wrong, remember that I am doing my best, and also that, to some degree, I'm redefining these universes for the sake of the game.**

**So with that said, on to the story.**

Action Comics: The Ending--Chapter 1

_For every beginning, there must be an ending._

_Three years ago, the JLA Watchtower…_

"It's over, Barry," the Green Lantern, Hal Jordan said, placing his hand in the Flash's shoulder.

"No! I refuse to believe that. It can't end like this. It just can't." The Flash stopped, and then his head fell into his hands. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

"I know," Hal said, just as bitter as his friend was. "I don't know what we did wrong. But, Barry, you have to admit this is just over. I mean, look at it! The Watchtower is in ruins, Wonder Woman's run back to Amazon-land, and with his shape-shifting ability, J'onn could be anywhere."

"Not to mention Orin."

"Yeah."

"I guess we really blew it, Hal," Barry said, sitting down on his round table chair. "We were supposed to be something special. The real deal; Justice Society what? Where did all that go?"

"I don't know. I just don't know."

_"You probably know, though, we weren't the first. It all started with Hawk and Dove. You know them?"_

_"I've heard of them."_

_"They're good people. Brave; real heroes. A lot of people thought they were just young hotshots that didn't deserve their powers, but they really did have it where it counts. Anyway, this time they were on an undercover mission infiltrating Intergang to recover some super-weapon Intergang had gotten its hands on. What they didn't know was that a rogue government agency called Checkmate was also on the job. _

"And so then Don says, 'Why don't I just give it to ya?' and he did! Can you believe dat?" The other Intergang Agents laughed along with Hank as he took another long pull of beer.

"Uh, Hank," Don said quietly in Hank's ear. "Don't you think you should be slowing down on those, Ace? We're gonna have to get moving soon."

"Not a problem, Bro. Ya know, for law-breakin' terrorists, these Intergang guys aren't that bad. I kinda feel bad that we'll be arrestin' 'em soon." Hank took another swig of beer and laughed.

Don looked up at the agents surrounding him, glad that they were all even drunker than Hank. "Alright, Hank, let's go." Don put his head under Hank's shoulder and slowly lifted the bulky football player away from the bar and out of the room. It was only minutes after they got out that a device in Don's pocket started beeping. "The signal!" He said, pulling out the device and studying it. "They must be powering up the weapon. It looks like it's down the hall and to the left. Come on, we've got to get moving!"

"Yeah, yeah," Hank muttered thickly. Just give me a minute till the room stops spinning…"

"We don't have a minute." Don said slapping his brother hard in the face, "Now snap out of it!"

"Hawk!" Hank said, as the slap brought renewed alertness. Suddenly he was transformed into a red-and-white clad superhero. "See, what'd I tell you, Bro. It's all gone; not even a hangover."

"Gee, it's so nice to know that your superpower is being able to drink without it affecting you," Dove said, after he had also transformed. "Now let's stop that weapon." Dove bolted down the hall, followed closely by his brother.

On a hill just outside of the Intergang compound, an arm encased in metallic armor held up binoculars that were pointed right at the two heroes.

"Who are those guys?"

"I don't know, but Intergang sometimes has super-villains do their dirty work for them. All units," the leader said, sending a message through the radio in each Checkmate agent's helmet. "There are two men inside the compound not dressed in the standard Intergang uniform. Treat these men with extreme prejudice. Now, they're powering up the weapon. Let's move!"

"This is the door," Dove said, checking his sensor device once more. "We've got a couple minutes, so it should be plenty of time to make sure the weapon is fully deactived. So, would you like to do the honors?"

"Of course," Hawk said, kicking the door in on the surprised agents inside. Dove charged in and immediately had three agents down. Another agent was able to get a shot off, but Dove dodged it easily as Hawk took out the others easily.

"Piece of cake," Hawk said, grinning. He loved doing this. "I only wish it could've lasted longer. You gonna be able to disarm that thing?"

"Sure, no problem," Dove answered confidently. "In fact, I think that's it. I just have to check one more thing," he continued, trying to open a panel on the weapon's underside.

"Freeze!" Hawk and Dove spun around to see a group of Checkmate knights at the door, all of their weapons leveled. "You in the blue, hands off the gun!"

"Look, I don't know who you are, but we're the good guys."

"Hands in the air, now! Last warning!"

"I need to make sure this weapon is deactivated. If it's not, it could go of in…"

"Hands up!" The Checkmate agent said, and then fired three shots, center mass.

Hawk screamed a string of profanities as he saw his brother fall to the ground, and then he charged forward bestially, knocking down the Checkmate agents effortlessly. None of them could hope to stand up to his strength, doubled through his ferocious anger, and the whole group was on the ground in seconds. Then Hawk came back to the leader, the man that had shot his brother. He grabbed him by the neck and punched him hard in the face.

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you, ya lousy waste of flesh!" Hank screamed as he hit him again, practically foaming at the mouth.

"No!" Hawk turned around to see Don struggling to get up, but failing. Hawk dropped the Checkmate agent and ran to his brother. "Peace, Hank," Don whispered slowly. "Remember? Peace…"

"No," Hank said, knowing that it was over. "You can't die, Don, you're a hero. What am I gonna do without you?" Hawk looked back at the Checkmate leader, and then picked up the body of his brother and left._****_


	2. Chapter 2

Action Comics: The Ending—Chapter 2

_"I don't know if I believe in all that Lords of Order and Chaos stuff, but it did seem like Dove's death started us all in a downward spiral of chaos. It was shortly after that Alan Scott was put on trial. As a Green Lantern, I had to sit there and watch, helpless to do anything for him."  
_

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Hal Jordan asked the other Green Lanterns sitting by him. Kilowog just grunted and shook his head. "But I know this man," Hal continued. "I've even worked with him on occasion. He's not a thief, or a criminal. He doesn't deserve this kind of treatment."

"Calm down, Hal," Arkiss Chummuck replied. "The Guardians know what they're doing. I don't know Alan Scott, but I do know that the Gaurdians have the best interests of the universe in mind."

The Guardian prosecuting the trial spoke again. "Earthling Alan Scott, do you have anything more to say before you are sentenced?"

"I've already given my defense," Alan offered, "But I will simply say that I don't know why you're doing this. I've never hurt any innocent person with this ring; furthermore, it's not even one of yours. I see no reason why you should take it from me."  
"Your plea has been taken into consideration, but refused. Earthling Alan Scott, by order of the Guardians of the universe, your ring, the source of your power, is hereby removed to prevent you from harming any denizen of Earth or other planets. Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern of sector 2814, will take you back to Earth, where you may continue with your normal life. Sentence has been passed."

_"It got worse. Even Batman got injured. You remember when that happened, right?"_

_"Sure, it sent a shock through all of us. I mean, we all know he's human, but still, he's the last one I'd expect to get wounded in a battle."_

_"I think he felt the same way."_

"Look, Batman, I know you're in charge, and I certainly can't give you any orders, but I really think you need to sit this one out. Your leg isn't even close to being healed."

"I'm going, Black Lightning. You need me there; this is a volatile situation and you'll need my tactical expertise even if you can't benefit from my fighting ability."

"You can lead us from here in the bat-cave."

"No, I can't. They've erected a barrier around the building that the bomb is in to keep communication from going in and out. That's why it's imperative that I go with you, at least inside the walls, so that I can coordinate the assault from there."

"But what if you're attacked? You won't be able to defend yourself."  
Batman's eyes narrowed. "I can defend myself."

"Against a normal threat, I'm sure you could. But would if some superhuman monster attacks you? With the state your leg is in, you wouldn't be able to run…um, retreat back to us."

"I can handle myself."

"Come on, Batman. The Outsiders don't leave their own in danger. But if I or Geo-Force have to stay with you to make sure you're okay, that'll cut down on our attack force. You have to admit that it makes more tactical sense not to do something that would lower our active force." Batman said nothing. "We can do this, Batman. Really. You know we've had the best trainer in the world, and we're ready to go out there without you holding our hands. Let us prove it to you."

_"And then there was the Titans. A very promising group. They used to all be sidekicks, but they were really starting to come into their own."_

_"I know what you mean. Wally had vastly decreased his time working together with me so that he could focus on his work with the team. For a minute, it almost looked like they'd replace the JLA."_

"Titans, we've got something," Nightwing said, sweeping his long hair back behind the large collar of his blue and yellow costume. "Is everyone here?"

"All present and accounted for," Wally West, Kid Flash told him. Wally was their youngest member at seventeen, which was why the team had taken the modifier off of their title. The other members at the time were Arsenal, Tempest, and Troia.

"Uh oh," Nightwing said, as he studied the monitor.

"What's up?" Arsenal asked.

"It's Deathstroke."

"Wonderful," Troia said.

"He's at Warehouse 32. This could be important."

"I don't get it," Kid Flash said. "How could a villain be making some important robbery at an old, abandoned warehouse?"

"The abandoned warehouse thing is just a cover. That place is the access point to an underground STAR Labs facility," Nightwing explained. "Come on, we've got to get there before Deathstroke finds out how to get inside!"

_"Did we ever figure out what was up with Superman this whole time?"_

_"No, although I don't know how much he could have done to change any of this. I don't know where he was; all I know is he was off-world."_

"You sure you want to do this, Kara?"

"I'm with you, Superman. One hundred percent."

"It could get pretty messy."

"I know."  
"You sure you're ready for something this big?" Superman asked again.

"Yes! Now let's get on with it."

"Alright. You be the lookout. I'll start giving them the food." Superman stepped out from behind the cover of a scraggly black bush to face some of the denizens of Apokolips. They looked on him fearfully, and moved slowly away from him like a small animal would retreat from a man. "Please," Superman began softly. "I want to help you. I have food." He held up some of the rations he was offering, and it drew a few of the villagers a little closer. "Take it, please." Superman set the parcel down, and then moved back out of sight. The villagers came forward slowly, cautiously, expecting some sort of trap.

They weren't disappointed.

"Kal, look out! Parademons are coming!" Supergirl pointed past the village toward a thick mass in the sky far away, looking like a swarm of flies, getting bigger and bigger as it came closer.

"I don't know if they're here for us or for the villagers, but either way, they're gonna have to settle for us!" Superman said, launching himself into the air to face the minions of Darkseid. Supergirl followed an instant later, and soon they met the enemy. The Parademons fired laser bolts from their weapons, but they were easily dodged, and as Superman and Supergirl got into the crowd of soldiers, the worst the lasers could do was hit another Parademon.

Superman was angry, and he showed it as his eyes glowed red, taking out one Parademon with his heat vision while knocking down another with his fists. Supergirl was slower, but certainly did her share. The Parademons were no match for the two Kryptonians, and pretty soon the troop was routed.

"Kara, it looks like some of their laser shots knocked some of the buildings down. There are villagers trapped in them. You get them out while I finish off these stragglers." Superman went after the few Parademons that were left, hoping their leader might have some useful information, when he realized three new combatants had arrived on the scene.

"Superman; I don't think we've met. Allow me to introduce the Female Furies."


	3. Chapter 3

Action Comics: The Ending—Chapter 3

_"So while Superman was doing something on some other planet somewhere, and Batman was down with a bad leg, we the Justice League were having some trouble of our own."_

_"I remember. It all started with just another routine mission. Which planet was it?"_

_"Beta 3, wasn't it?"_

_"That's right. I'm not exactly an astronomy major. That solar system's right near ours, isn't it?"_

_"Yeah."___

_"That was actually a pretty fun mission. We go up there, dish the bad guys, and reap the gratitude of a thankful population. I bet you get that a lot as Green Lantern."_

_"Less than you might imagine. Of course, things went quickly downhill from there. Orin had to go back to Atlantis to stop his brother, or something like that."_

_"And so, we were up on the Watchtower, spending a pleasant evening, or so we thought…."_

"Gin."

"No way!"

"Darn right, ring jockey. How do you like them apples?" Flash taunted happily.

Green Lantern snorted derisively. "It's not like you even have a chance against me in poker."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Heck, yeah."  
"You're on. Hey, Wonder Woman, why don't you come join us?"

"No."

"Okay," Hal said with sarcastic resignation. "I guess you could just sit there smelling the flowers they gave you on Beta 3. All night long."

"Is there something wrong with me enjoying these?"  
"No, but you should be careful with those things. You know how alien flowers always do crazy stuff to your brain," Hal added good-naturedly.

"Only if you're wearing a red shirt," Barry noted. "Oh, wait, she is."

"Really, Diana, the way you've been sitting there all night obsessively sniffing those things, you'd almost think—"

"How dare you call me obsessive!" Wonder Woman said, leaping forward suddenly. "What right have you to judge me?!"

"Whoa."

"Diana, calm down," Barry said, standing up slowly. "We were just joking," he explained, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Joke's over!" Wonder Woman yelled, as she grabbed the Flash's arm and threw him into a wall, knocking him unconscious.

"Diana!" The Green Lantern said, readying his ring to block an attack. "What the heck are you doing?"

"What I've wanted to do for a long time. Destroying you all!"

_"It seemed like everything popped at once then. Us, the Titans, the JSA, the Outsiders. All of our collective trains just suddenly derailed, and we could do nothing to stop it."_

"I hope we got here in time," Nightwing said to the other Titans as Troia pounded the door in to Warehouse 32. "Looks like it."

Slade Wilson, known by reputation as Deathstroke the Terminator, regarded the Titans with quiet confidence. With a quick motion, he silently ordered his men to attack. They came out from behind boxes and any other cover, armed with assault rifles.

"Titans, you know what to do," Nightwing said, as he tossed a couple 'rangs at two of the gunmen. Kid Flash sped forward, disarming thugs at superspeed, and Arsenal shot arrows, while Troia and Tempest took the direct approach.

"Your men went down pretty quickly, Deathstroke," Nightwing said, and then quickly realized the man was gone.

"Hey, Nightwing, that door in the back there is open."

"It wasn't open before," Nightwing said, approaching the door. "It's too sloppy. He's trying to set us up." Nightwing fully opened the door cautiously, and examined the space in front of it. "No tripwires or laser eyes. Alright, let's proceed with caution. Slowly, carefully."

The Titans walked forward, expecting some trap to spring at any moment, but nothing happened. Then they noticed the walls had changed.

"Looks like somebody ran out of wallpaper and decided to use mirrors instead," Kid Flash gibed.

"It's a maze of mirrors. Meant to get us confused and disoriented. This is definitely a trap. Deathstroke didn't just come here haphazardly," Nightwing said, slowly letting it sink in. "He knew we were coming."

"Did you just hear a sound like a sliding door?"  
"I think I heard several."

Suddenly, more gunmen approached from all sides. In the bottleneck of the maze, the Titans were easily surrounded.

"Titans, stay together!" Nightwing yelled, crouching low and executing a spin kick that brought two thugs to the ground.

"It's too crowded," Arsenal said, with an arrow notched to his bow. "I can't get a clear shot!" Arsenal dropped his bow as a bullet hit him in the shoulder.

"Arsenal!" Nightwing yelled, even as he threw too more 'rangs.

"I'm okay," Arsenal said painfully. He got back on his feet, and leaned against a wall, which, seconds later, shattered in a spray of glass as a sword appeared from the darkness and ran Arsenal through. Nightwing's mouth dropped open as he saw his teammate and close friend die in front of his eyes.

"Deathstroke," he said with teeth gritted, as he dispatched two more thugs, and moved to face their commander. Deathstroke pulled out a pistol, and pointed it at Nightwing. But as he pulled the trigger, Nightwing realized it was actually pointed past him. He heard the sound of the shot at the same time he saw Tempest fall to the ground.

With a burst of rage, Nightwing jumped forward and kicked at Deathstroke, but he was blocked. Deathstroke returned with a slash of his rapier, which Nightwing managed to avoid, but Deathstroke caught him on the chin with the butt of his pistol, and sent Nightwing flying through another mirror.

"Kid Flash," Deathstroke said, pulling out a remote control device. "Outrun this." Suddenly, the space of floor the Flash was standing on was flooded with a thick layer of oil that eliminated the friction, causing the speedster to slip and fall. Almost instantly after that, the section of floor slid away into the wall, revealing a bed of spikes twenty feet down.

"No!" Nightwing yelled, his own physical pain unnoticed as he saw the third of his teammates die. "Troia!" He rasped, "Get out! Now!"

Troia started to protest, but then, seeing the urgency in Nightwing's eyes, launched herself through the roof and to safety. Nightwing pushed himself up and then turned to face Deathstroke once more. The killer had put away both his sword and his gun, and faced Nightwing in a karate stance. Nightwing sprang forward, throwing an open hand at Deathstroke's face, but it was blocked just like before. He threw another punch, and another. The fourth finally hit, but Deathstroke barely seemed to notice. Deathstroke came back then, hitting Nightwing in the face, then in the stomach, in the ribs, then in the face again. Nightwing fell to the ground, but Deathstroke picked him up by his collar, ripped off his mask, and then threw him back to the ground.

"Remember this, little boy," Deathstroke said arrogantly. "You've lost everything. Your team, your secret identity…your pride. I bet you wish I'd kill you, too."  
"You'll pay for this," Nightwing muttered weakly.

"Still defiant?" Deathstroke asked. "Too bad you can't back it up. The Titans have been destroyed, kid. I won."


	4. Chapter 4

Heroclix RPSC—Action Comics: The Ending

Action Comics: The Ending—Chapter 4

"I don't want to hurt you, Wonder Woman," The Green Lantern said as he avoided another of the Amazon's attacks. "But I'll be darned if I let you keep pounding on me like this!" At the speed of thought, a pair of green salad tongs appeared, pulling Wonder Woman away. Just then, the Martian Manhunter appeared behind her, but she turned and kicked him back before he could make his move. The Green Lantern was working on a giant crab when Wonder Woman turned her attention back to him.

"Your ring is powerless against my magic lasso!" Wonder Woman said, throwing the golden rope at the Green Lantern. The ring construct disappeared in a flash.

"J'onn," the Lantern yelled, "She must be mind-controlled or something. You have to use your mental powers!"

"Stay out of my head," Wonder Woman said, turning around and approaching J'onn with an object he didn't expect; a cigarette lighter. He stumbled backwards, his concentration broken. As she and the Martian passed into another room, Wonder Woman touched the lighter to one of the objects in the room, and it went up in flames.

"Computer," Wonder Woman said wickedly, as she held her torch up above her. "Turn off the fire-extinguishing security protocols."

"Protocols off," the computer replied, and Wonder Woman laughed in savage merriment as she set the whole room on fire to leave J'onn cowering in terror, as she went through the rest of the Watchtower, spreading the fire, breaking walls and destroying furniture.

Batman sat in his chair in the bat-cave, his injured leg propped up. His head had fallen into his cupped hands, and his shoulders heaved with unarticulated sobs as a news message repeated on one of his monitors.

"…for those just tuning in, the terrorist threat at the Carlton Arms hotel has been diffused. The group of superheroes called the Outsiders went in to stop the terrorists. They succeeded in freeing all the hostages, but they themselves were caught in the blast as the bomb went off. By giving their lives to save others, these people proved that they truly were heroes."

"Stay strong, Justice Society," Hawkman said, as he went into a skirmish with one of the many parademons. "I think we're starting to beat them back."

"But at what cost?" Flash asked, as he dispatched another of the grounded troops. "Dr. Midnite's down. So is Starman. We can't hold out much longer."

"We'll hold as long as we have to!" Mr. Terrific said, kicking one of the parademons, just as an airborne soldier hit him with a laser blast. He fell to the ground and rolled, trying to get to his feet. Captain Marvel was struggling to finish off Kalibak, but a constant barrage of laser fire from parademons was slowing the process. Wildcat was fighting his way through parademons despite the heads of two spears impaled in his back.

Captain Marvel brought down Kalibak and moved over to the aid of his comrades, as Doctor Fate hit them with the full force of his powers. It seemed like the tide had turned in their favor, but with terrible losses.

"We would've toasted these guys easy…if Alan had been here."

Wonder Woman, her rampage concluded, returned to the room where she had left the Green Lantern, and was shocked to see the Green Lantern standing there waiting for her.

"You escaped!" She exclaimed unnecessarily.

"Yes," Hal replied glibly. "Which begs the question, what happens when you get a taste of your own magic lasso?" There was a blur of red behind Wonder Woman, and then Barry stood there, with Diana's own rope tying her up. She fell down, almost seeming to go unconscious, and then she opened her eyes.

"What happened?"

Darkseid, dread lord of Apokolips, rose with a start as Superman came crashing through one of the walls of his throne room. He had sent Supergirl back to Earth after barely defeating the Female Furies.

"It's time to end this, Darkseid."

"Yes," the dictator said, sending a ray of the Omega Beam from his eyes. It hit Superman full in the chest, sending him flying back through the hole he had made in the wall. He came back fast, holding a large chunk of rubble. He hurled it at Darkseid, who took it, unfazed.

"Did you really think you'd have a chance against me, Earthling? You should have left Apokolips alone. I am ruler here. Perhaps you have an elevated status on Earth, but here, you are nothing."

Superman shot out a blast of heat vision, but Darkseid answered it with his own Omega Beam, which bested it easily, and slammed Superman into a wall.

"My people are smart enough to know not to try my patience," Darkseid said, walking toward the prone Man of Steel. "They do not need an example of why they should not attempt such foolishness." He grabbed Superman by his cape and lifted him up. "You will be one anyway."

Superman gritted his teeth as he struggled against Darkseid's iron grip. He knew he was beaten. He had come to this planet, the great and lofty Man of Steel, Superman, and had been summarily defeated by this man he had come to dethrone. Darkseid had beaten him quickly and easily, without Superman even getting in a good hit. He was truly outmatched, in the hands of a combatant far superior to himself.

Darkseid dropped Superman's cape and punched him in the jaw, sending Superman rolling across the floor.

"I won't be your example," Superman said feebly, knowing he had nothing better to say, and then pulled a boom-tube generator from his belt, and escaped, utterly and completely beaten.

"Diana, it's okay," Barry said, "You weren't in control."

"No, you're wrong. The flowers they gave me on Beta 3 had a sort of chemical in it that's supposed to give you the courage to do what you've always wanted to do. The truth is, I've harbored a lot of enmity toward man's world. I simply can't stay here until I resolve those feelings."

"I, too, cannot stay," J'onn said weakly, still not recovered from his ordeal in the fire. "My inability to act may cause the downfall of an innocent person someday. I must leave until I can conquer this fear."

"Come on, guys," Hal exclaimed. "Don't you think you're overreacting just a little? I mean, you're heroes. You save lives. You can't just leave because of a couple minor speed bumps."

"I practically destroyed the whole Watchtower," Diana replied. "That isn't minor."

"It seems that the time of heroes has passed," J'onn said, and then left.

_"It wasn't long before Orin came back and said he was leaving too. That was just the final nail in the coffin, though. The three of us wouldn't have made much of a 'League.' It was already over by then."_

The Batman crouched on a gargoyle overlooking Gotham City. He looked up as he heard Superman land on the roof beside him.

"I don't get it," Superman said. "What happened to us?" Batman simply grunted. "I remember back when we all came on the scene, they called it the age of heroes, like it was the dawning of some great new era in human history. It didn't last very long."

"It's not ever yet," Batman replied quietly.

"What's left?" Superman asked.

**_The heroes of the new Justice League of America and the New Titans pick up the pieces in Action Comics: The Beginning, coming soon!_**


End file.
